Cat 3 to 2- what did it take?

[-YETI-]

I raced Cat 3 this year and was mid pack for most of the races. In a few, I was a place or 2 away from upgrade points.

For those of you who have personally made the upgrade from 3 to 2 or 1- how'd you do it? How much did you need to ramp up training hours? What did it take to achieve this?

@mbruno ? @The Heckler ?

others?

Thanks- very curious to hear from you

 

[Delish]

Short answer. Do a little strength/weakness analysis and work on the weaknesses. Where are you losing time? Pedaling sections? Bike driving? Technique (on/off bike, smoothness in transitions)? A few seconds per lap can take somebody from mid-pack 3 to the sharp end.

Different strokes for different folks. For me it wasn't training hours but what I did during those hours...more structured interval workouts. I also worked on technique. A lot. For others it's volume.

 

[hotsauce]

Interested in this topic too. I'd like to get some upgrade points in the 3's next season and after racing Supercross and NBX, it seems like a tall order. I agree on the working on your weakness part. For me it's the bike driving, transitions, and general handling skills.

My two cents from below looking up:
The technical skills can make up for a lack of power, to an extent. Look at Myerson, his racing age is 45 and there's no way he has the top end power of some of the young whipper snappers but he's always in the mix. You can lay the power down all day long but losing a second in every turn leads to tail gunning a group which leads to losing the group.

Another observation is consistency and line choice. The competitive guys are racing the A line, every lap, and almost always making good mental decisions. It's easy to get foggy after 40 minutes of redlining but that one mental slip could be the difference between a points and no points.

 

[vlkslvr]

Short answer. Do a little strength/weakness analysis and work on the weaknesses. Where are you losing time? Pedaling sections? Bike driving? Technique (on/off bike, smoothness in transitions)? A few seconds per lap can take somebody from mid-pack 3 to the sharp end.

Different strokes for different folks. For me it wasn't training hours but what I did during those hours...more structured interval workouts. I also worked on technique. A lot. For others it's volume.

This same advice could be applied to anyone looking to upgrade to the next Cat. The SWOT analysis approach really applies here:

S(trength) - what are you already good at? Can you hammer the straights? Rail the Corners? Soar over the barriers like an Eagle?
W(eakness) - what do you totally stink at? Do you flail on the corners like a fish Mid-Air at the Pike Place Fish Market? Do you melt in the rain and mud?
O(pportunity) - what can you exploit to your advantage? Sign up for more Technical races if you do well at Technical races.
T(hreats) - What could cause problems? - Big promotion at work taking away all your training time? Kid's college fund taking all your entry fees?

Sure there is a chance that it might come down to just simply needing more time on the bike - but as Delish pointed out you might be able to get to the next level just by paying more attention to what you are doing with the hours you already spend.

 

[Pearl]

you only asked for people who actually went from 3-2, but minus the two you mentioned, everyone else has regretted it!

Stay Cat 3 Forever!

 

[Delish]

If you are hunting upgrade points you also have to know the game. Race strategy should include picking the right races. If upgrade points are what you are after you might need to shop around. Hunting points in a 100+ person New England B field is way harder than at local races (NJBA/PA/etc...). Same # of points available for a 50 person race as a 125 person race. Also, same # of points available regardless of the strength of the field.

 

[Delish]

you only asked for people who actually went from 3-2, but minus the two you mentioned, everyone else has regretted it!

Stay Cat 3 Forever!

Right. In New England, historically there has been a strong disincentive for people to upgrade from 3->2 because the "B" races were often Cat 3 only. It means that if you are younger than 35 and upgrade to Cat 2, you get thrown into a big black hole (i.e. only option is the Elite/UCI race). Same is true for MAC races I think.

This is the major counterpoint to poaching upgrade points at small local races. People get a false sense of awesomeness after scoring a few B podiums in 25 person NJ B fields and upgrading to Cat 2 only to discover that they not only have to shell out $$ for a UCI license, but now they have to race for an hour against people who can pedal really really hard and are excellent at everything else too.

But the question you asked was "how" do you upgrade, not "whether" you should.

 

[The Heckler]

Hmmm... wear to start, where to start....

While at this point I totally agree with @Delish in it being about quality here is what I managed to accomplish so far with these volumes totally just winging it:

2010,11,12 commuting to class/around school daily
2 hard 1 hour mountain rides a week through spring/summer

2013 -> CX 5-4-3 first year of 'training'
181 hours, mostly road miles (2614 miles)
Off the bike all of May due to broken hand
500 mile week in July (tour NYC->Montreal)
25 CX races, made Cat 3 by 18th race

Rides were with Zach and we basically would to 1:15-1:30 flog each other rides 3-4 times a week.

2014 -> CX 3, points for 2 no upgrade
321 hours, mostly road miles with a 'decent' amount of MTB mixed in (4703 miles)
Raced MTB to Cat 2 podium (3 times?) Upgraded to Cat 1 MTB
27 CX races
Ramped up intensity a lot mid July, Rode HARD a lot into and through CX season.
Earned enough points for elective upgrade, was humbled by a NECX 3 race late in the year, stayed down in Cat 3.
Totally burnt out by the end of the year.

2015 -> CX 3-2
331 hours, mostly road miles with a 'decent' amount of MTB mixed in (5073 miles)
Raced MTB mid pack Cat 1 MTB
25 CX races
Ramped up intensity a lot mid July, Rode HARD a lot into and through CX season.
Re-earned most of my points, recycled some, upgraded to Cat 2 after NBX.

NOTES: 2015 I side stepped. It was basically a cookie cutter year to 2014 and I made zero measurable improvements. I dialed back some intensity and didn't burn out. Noticeably felt and raced flat, not top end.

None of this is law. Zach followed basically the exact same ride schedule and had pretty similar results and progression so I think there may be something to take away from this. Aside from riding consider these things:

1. Cut your teeth at the UCI events and come back locally to get your points. You probably wont get many points racing NECX. If you are, you should consider upgrading. The front of those fields are basically scraping at the 50% mark for the elite fields. That said, you will really learn how to race FAST.

2. Practice your skills, barriers, mounts, dismounts, corners. These are all things you won't gain much time on but can lose a whole lot when you crash.

3. Don't crash. Crashing is slow and hurts and it get's expensive. Rubber side down.

4. After all of this just consider a coaching service if you think you can afford it. OR try an internet coaching plan OR read a book. I'll tell you it's easiest to have someone telling you what to do and when to do it. You'll save time and energy.

5. Ride with people faster than you, IT HELPS!

So, yeah. That's what I've done, there is 1000 more ways to do it and probably come up with the same result. Keep the balance or you will burn out and throw your bike into the bay at Gloucester. Or NBX, or the pond at CSI, or the lake at HPCX or onto the track to get runover by a Skip Barber car at KMC, or into the leech field at Nittany.

Good luck.

 

[hotsauce]

@The Heckler, nice biography. What would you change if you did it all over again?

 

[Consult_Ant]

Myerson is a perfect example of power not being the it all be all of performance on race day. But that being said, he still has pro level 30-1min power and can still hold a 300w NP for an hour at 155 pounds.

To clarify your question:
Are you looking for the best way to hunt upgrade points or to improve on results?

There is definitely a strategy to getting the points needed to get to 2 without being the fastest 3 in your area. Things like going to a smaller race on a big race weekend to avoid the fastest riders.

Another question:
Why do you want your 2 upgrade?

 

[The Heckler]

@The Heckler, nice biography. What would you change if you did it all over again?

Structure sooner. JRA was fine in 13 and 14, but 15 I really should have ponied up.

http://www.cycle-smart.com/coaching

 

[-YETI-]

This is all very helpful feedback- thanks all.

I appreciate the detail on your training volume @The Heckler

Right now I can climb and power on straight sections but the cornering does need help...

To clarify your question:
Are you looking for the best way to hunt upgrade points or to improve on results?

Another question:
Why do you want your 2 upgrade?

I'm looking to do both. I want to continually improve and also get some upgrade points. I'd like to earn the Cat 2 upgrade so that I can have a goal to work towards- and I have a competitive personality. I just enjoy racing and want to continue to challenge myself.

 

[Delish]

Structured training works.
Attending CX specific practices/Wednesday Worlds works.
Racing against faster people works (you never know how fast you can actually go until you have no choice).
Racing a MTB will help with CX cornering

For comparison to @The Heckler here's my bio. I ride a lot fewer hours than most people I race against.

2010 ~?? hours (guessing ~220). Cat. 4->3 year. Fast group rides, crits , cx practices. No structured training.
2011 ~220 hours. 3->2 upgrade year. JRA, Crits, "A" shop rides, CX Practices, Running & plyo. Still no real structure. Success in local B's, shelled in a few MAC/New England B races.
2012 234 hours. got a power meter, JRA, a few Crits & MTB races. Lots of meat-and-potatoes 15m & 20m intervals...no formal training plan. Some success in big MAC/New England b races...dabbling in local A races but no results.
2013 221 hours. Self directed power based intervals. still no formal training plan. Summer crit/road racing. Pretty much repeat of 2012 but building on fitness. Midpack local Elite results, Some lead lap UCI C2 finishes, shelled at PVD C1
2014 232 hours. Coached. Cross specific plan. did ~70% of the workouts. Few crits, little group riding, a little MTB racing. Season didn't pan out...mostly related to outside factors.
2015 266 hours. Coached. Cross specific plan. did 85% of the workouts. Pretty much all solo riding with some MTB racing early. Good season...some local Elite podiums and success at larger events.

 

[mbruno]

Sorry for the late reply. I never really looked at or understood the upgrade procedure via "upgrade points" I just always requested and provided a race "resume". Also, I only upgraded to Cat2 this year out of necessity, b/c they weren't going to let me race the elite race at Granogue unless I was a Cat2. Also, b/c as of 2015, the MAC races are Pro1/2, 3/4, 4/5, which bummed me out in 2015 but have made peace with now. Most elite races if I'm not mistaken are "open" and therefore Cat3 guys can race too.

Short bio, this is my fourth year racing cross, or anything for that matter. Rode on the road and mountain pre-2013, but no racing. Below is a synopsis of my illustrious career. I've included my total training hours so that you can compare to the others, but I think average weekly training volume for the months of July, Aug, Sept would be a better metric as that's when I'm really focusing on cross specific training and am tailoring workouts. Also, never used a power meter, just HRM. I also never used a coach and don't have any specific targets that I'm trying to peak for. I generally judge my fitness against other racers, how many veins I can see on my inner thigh, and how fast I can go up a few select hills on my typical training routes. That being said, I take cross somewhat seriously, probably a little too seriously.

2013 - 196 hrs. No structured training. JRA, mostly on the road. Raced Cross Cat 4/5, did pretty well, went to Wednesday Worlds at Otto Farm/Chimney Rock.
2014 - 299 hrs. Somewhat structured training and when I say structured, I mean 1 to 2 interval sessions a week when I felt good. Raced the B's bunch of NJ podiums, not bad results in the MAC 2,3,4 series.
2015 - 336 hrs. Pretty much same as 2014, but got back into mountain biking, which helped with my cornering. Probably made my workouts a bit more structured and did more workouts on the cross bike which incorporated running. Didn't take this season too seriously b/c that fall was the 2nd to last semester of my M.S. and was pretty busy. Also, this was the year the MAC races got restructured, definitely wasn't ready for UCI but didn't feel the 3/4 MAC races were competitive. Raced mostly local elite races. The hour is tough.
2016 - 356 hrs. Most seriously taken cross season to date. Going ok, somewhat inconsistent results. My training didn't deviate too much from 2015, but took other aspects more seriously including prep for individual races, recovery, equipment choices, and being more focused and tactical while racing.

General plan for 2017, maybe get a power meter, probably wont hire a coach, practice riding my cross bike over more technical shit, do more UCI races, try to qualify for elite nats. Registered for an ultra endurance mtb race in the early summer, not sure if that will help or hurt my cross season.

I guess if you look at this progression, I've trained more and more each year, but it doesn't really feel that way, especially this year. As others have said, this is one guy's story. Also, when you start making the move to the "A" and UCI races, it's tough to compete against these real-deal pros that only work part time if at all and that can get discouraging. It's not just that those guys can race and train more, they have more time for active recovery, nutrition, equipment maintenance, etc.

 

[-YETI-]

Thanks @Delish . Your hours have remained impressively consistent through the years- I guess it's really how you use the time and the cumulative load that makes the impact. I will be racing MTB this spring- so I expect/hope my cornering and technical skills will improve for the fall.

@mbruno - Yeah, I did one 1/2/3 race this year and I did run out of gas near the end of the hour- that last lap was painful after being used to only 45 min. Appreciate you sharing your general YOY growth and training comparison.

This is all very helpful

 

[Pearl]

I thought 356 sounded like a lot, so I looked back at my calendar and saw that I had 380 for 2015, trained for MTB and CX exclusively with a coach...

Makes you feel like a loser when many people are more naturally talented than you and just wing it

Proof that you either have it or you don't!

 

[Norm]

There's a lot of words here, so I'll keep this simple. As someone who upgraded from 3 to 2 like 400 years ago, it was kind of like this:

1. Ride a fuck ton (~500 hours a year)
2. Race a fuck ton (~30 times a year)
3. Do crits, try to solo for the win every race
4. Do group rides, try to drop the whole group every ride
5. Stop drinking beer, lose weight
6. Eventually say fuck it all, drink beer, gain weight, start podcast, make fun of people.

 

[Pearl]

me when i realize i had all the time in the world and will never get any faster

 

[Ian F]

Ages ago I was a middle-of-the-pack Sport (now Cat 2) XC racer. I didn't really train - just rode my bike. The closest I got to considering an upgrade was when I started riding with friends who were decent Expert class (Cat 1) racers. We'd do rides together and I'd suffer. But doing those rides made me stronger. I remember doing an XC race down in Patapsco where for once I got a great start and could actually see the leaders heading up the first climb.

Then I discovered DH racing and XC racing took a back seat... Other than a few races up at Stewart, I haven't raced XC at all since the late 90's.

However, my progression in DH was much the same. I raced in Sport, but rode with Experts and Semi-Pros. I had one race that I probably would have won had I not suffered a technical near the bottom. I moved to Expert the next race (you could upgrade to Expert anytime you wanted back then). My life in Expert class was painful with a number of crashes, but I did post a few decent results. And after awhile, there were a few races where all classes rode the same course and I posted times that would have decimated my class in Sport. So while I wasn't winning in Expert, I was definitely not Sport anymore. Having to step it up made me faster.

Now 15 years later, I'm back in Cat 2 and my times are all over the place. I've both won my class and finished DFL. I began this season with hopes of working my way back up to Cat 1, but now I'm not so sure. I still plan to race next year, but I have other commitments and don't plan to take it as seriously.

Not sure if any of that relates to cross racing, but if there's any take away it's that just racing faster people will make you faster.